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Four weeks after it took the covers of the Cronos sedan in South America, Fiat has released its first images of the interior of the Linea replacement that will rival the likes of the Volkswagen Virtus sedan.Defining aspects of the cabin include a small touchscreen infotainment system, a three-spoke steering wheel and a small digital gauge in the center of the cluster. Elsewhere, there are the usual array of vents, buttons, and plastics expected of a car like this.

Customers will have the option of 1.3-liter and 1.8-liter engines, with power expected to range from between 101 hp to 139 hp for the range-topping 1.8-liter mill. The two engines will be offered with a five-speed manual gearbox, with a six-speed automatic being an option on the 1.8.

Fiat Cronos sales will commence early this year in Brazil, and other South American countries will follow.

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Fiat is an Italian brand first and foremost, but it’s a major player (and manufacturer) in the Latin American market, where it’s just revealed the new Cronos sedan.Built on a new modular platform, the Cronos replaces the old Punto-based Linea sedan with a completely fresh form.

Though clearly coming from the same automaker that builds the Tipo in Turkey, the Cronos is sized smaller to enter one of South America’s biggest market segments. The manufacturer estimates that niche accounts for some 300,000 vehicles in Brazil and another 100,000 in neighboring Argentina, a bigger slice of which Fiat is clearly eager to take.

Power comes from a choice of 1.3 or 1.8-liter engines (of otherwise unspecified specifications), and emphasis is said to have been placed on the vehicle’s handling. Brazilian and Argentinian customers can expect to start seeing them on the road in the first quarter of the new year ahead, by which time we’ll presumably have a clearer picture of the model’s specs.

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Renault has taken the Duster into its second generation a couple of months after the budget SUV debuted as a Dacia in Frankfurt. Trying to discern any differences on the outside is futile because, apart from a modified grille and an updated plastic trim on the tailgate, the two vehicles are practically identical.

That, of course, makes perfect sense as the Renault will be sold in different markets than the Dacia, thus there was no need for the French group to indulge in (costly) design changes.

The same stands for the interior, too, so you’ll need to check out both versions of the Duster, side by side, to tell the difference. Once you do, you’ll notice that the Dacia’s round air vents have been replaced by horizontal ones, and their number has dropped from five to four. The Renault has a new steering wheel too, which appears to be more upscale, but the rest of the cabin remains identical to its Dacia sibling, including the infotainment system, which has been carried over from the previous iteration.

Renault’s new Duster will continue to be offered with two- and four-wheel drive, powered by the same engines as before, including the 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter petrol units, with 115PS (113hp) and 145PS (143hp), respectively. Diesel variants include the 1.5-liter dCi with 85PS (84hp) and 90PS (89hp), alongside the dCi 110PS (108hp), which can be ordered with an optional AWD. Moreover, customers will be able to specify the FWD dCi 110 with a dual-clutch automatic transmission in the near future.

2018 RENAULT DUSTER

2018 DACIA DUSTER

After a number of leaks and a revealing teaser, the 2018 VW Virtus has just premiered in Brazil.Essentially a sedan version of the Polo that will be sold exclusively in South America, the Virtus will directly rival the likes of the Honda City, Toyota Yaris Sedan, Fiat Cronos and Chevrolet Prisma.

Like the Polo, the 2018 Virtus is underpinned by the carmaker’s MQB-A0 platform and should be available with the same selection of powertrains. As it stands, VW’s South American arm has confirmed just one model, the 200 TSI. It utilizes a 1.0-liter TSI three-cylinder turbo engine delivering 128 hp with ethanol and 115 hp with petrol. Both fuels deliver the same 147 lb-ft of torque, allowing for a 0-100 km/h (62 mph) time of 9.9 seconds and a 194 km/h (120 mph) top speed. Additional variants are expected to be announced shortly.

As expected, the exterior design of the Virtus is a mish-mash of the Polo hatch at the front and the Jetta sedan at the rear. More impressively, the sedan’s interior utilizes a 10.25-inch screen for the gauge cluster and an eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Mirrorlink.

Discussing the car, President and chief executive of Volkswagen South America Region and Brazil, Pable Di So, said the Virtus is an important model in the brand’s updated local range.

“We are advancing in South America – and are renewing our model range in Brazil step-by-step. Following the presentation of the new Volkswagen Polo a few weeks ago, the Virtus is a further key element in our drive to take Volkswagen back to the lead in the region.”

Fiat has released a teaser video with the new Cronos, a compact sedan that serves as a replacement for the Linea. To be offered exclusively in certain South American markets, the Cronos is basically a four-door version of the recently-unveiled Argo, so we know what to expect in terms of design, cabin, and engine lineup, bar the boot that will obviously increase in volume.

The FCA-owned brand didn’t have much to say about their upcoming product, except that it will hit production in the coming months, and sales will kick off in the first quarter of next year.

Named after the youngest of the Titans in Greek mythology, the new Fiat Cronos is expected to be offered with the entire engine family of its hatch sibling, which ranges from 77 to 139 horsepower. When powered by the latter choice, the five-door Argo needs 9sec to accelerate from 0 to 62mph (100km/h), and maxes out at 119mph (192km/h).

Depending on the specified flavor, the units can be married to three transmission options, five-speed manual and automatic, and six-speed automatic.

Fiat is expected to pull the covers off the new Cronos in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for an official image gallery and further details.

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Volkswagen has announced a 560 million-euro ($653 million) investment that will lead to the creation of a new SUV for the South American market.In the coming five years, the investment will be made at the firm’s Pacheco, Argentina production facility. Construction of the new SUV is expected to commence in 2020.

In a statement, Volkswagen revealed that the SUV will be based on its MQB architecture aimed specifically at suiting the requirements and desires of customers across South America. No confirmation has been provided as to what powertrains will be on offer to customers but early reports cite a 1.4-liter TSI and 1.5-liter TSI with cylinder deactivation as two likely candidates.

“We are laying the foundations for the brand’s growth on international markets with Volkswagen’s Transform 2025+ strategy,” VW brand chief executive Herbert Diess said. “South America and Argentina play an important role in this regard. Key elements of the growth strategy are the biggest model offensive in the history of the brand and the systematic regionalization of our business.”

The new SUV will be one of 20 new models set to be introduced by VW before the end of the decade.

With its dual headquarters in America and Europe, it'd be all too easy to forget that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles competes in other markets around the world. Like in South America, for example, where it is now rolling out an all-new model.Read more »